What Zerma America does

ZERMA America is the US subsidiary of Germany-based ZERMA, a privately held industrial equipment manufacturer with more than 70 years of engineering heritage in plastic size reduction machinery. Established in the US around 2014 and headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, the company supplies industrial shredders, granulators, and pulverizers for plastic recycling and in-plant scrap reclamation, with installations across more than 100 countries globally. The legal entity is domiciled in Illinois.

The company's product portfolio spans the full size-reduction spectrum: eight single-shaft shredder models (ZSS, ZCS, ZBS, ZIS, ZHS, ZRS, ZXS, ZXS-T), seven granulator lines (GSL, GSC, GST, GSE, GSH, GSP), the PM plastics pulverizer producing fine 35–500 micron powder, and auxiliary accessories for conveyor, separation, and dust handling. Notable technical differentiators include the ZRS pipe-profile shredder (the first single-shaft design to process full-length pipes up to 1200 mm without pre-cutting), the ZCS shredder-granulator combination, and a two-speed swing ram mechanism. Equipment is German-engineered and supported by an in-house material testing facility at Fort Myers that processes customer feedstock samples with video documentation.

ZERMA America operates a sales-led go-to-market model combining direct enterprise sales from Fort Myers, an authorized distributor network across at least 12 US states and Canada (En-Plas Inc.), and a direct e-commerce channel (Virtus Equipment Direct) for spare parts and standard machines. Revenue is generated through one-time equipment sales (quote-based, multi-year contracts), recurring spare parts and wear components, professional installation and maintenance services, and material testing as a pre-sale qualification tool. Primary customers are plastic manufacturers across injection molding, pipe and profile extrusion, blow molding, and rotomolding, with secondary applications in thermoforming, textile recycling, e-waste, wood, rubber, and tire recycling.

Name

Zerma America

Legal name

ZERMA America

Website

https://zerma-america.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ZERMA America is the US subsidiary of Germany-based ZERMA, supplying industrial shredders, granulators, and pulverizers for plastic recycling. It serves plastic manufacturers and recyclers across North America via direct sales, distributor network, and an online parts store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Recycling Machinery

NAICS

Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion) (EUAIAKAM)

Keywords

• Plastic recycling machinery
• Industrial shredders granulators
• Size reduction equipment
• Plastic pulverizer systems
• Recycling system accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Myers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Revenue model

1. Industrial Plastic Recycling Equipment Sales: Sale of industrial shredders, granulators, and complete recycling systems. Equipment ranges from beside-the-press granulators to heavy-duty central granulators, pipe shredders, and pulverizers. Sales are primarily B2B direct to plastic manufacturers and recycling operators, supported by distributor network.
2. Spare Parts and Wear Components: Replacement knives, screens, V-belts, bearings, electrical components, and preventive maintenance kits for ZERMA equipment. Sold through dedicated parts specialist (239-219-1500) and online via Virtus Equipment Direct e-commerce store.
3. Professional Services (Installation, Training, Maintenance): Professional installation, operator training, and preventive maintenance guidance. Service team available for commissioning support and troubleshooting. Bilingual Spanish support offered. Annual special offers (e.g., 10% off parts in January with code JAN2025).
4. Material Testing Services: In-house material testing facility where customers can send feedstock samples for processing through ZERMA equipment. Tests are documented on video and processed output is returned to the customer for evaluation. Short-run tests available at no charge. Used as a pre-sale qualification and sales tool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ZERMA America supplies industrial plastic size-reduction machinery for North America, offering single-shaft shredders (ZSS, ZCS, ZBS, ZIS, ZHS, ZRS, ZXS, ZXS-T series), granulators (GSL, GSC, GST, GSE, GSH, GSP series), and PM-series plastics pulverizers. The company also provides spare parts and wear components, recycling system accessories (conveyors, metal separation, blower and dust filtration systems), and material testing services to plastic manufacturers, recyclers, and processors.

Product overview

Zerma America offers a comprehensive portfolio of industrial plastic size reduction equipment spanning the entire spectrum of recycling machinery. The product line includes eight distinct shredder models (ZSS, ZCS, ZBS, ZIS, ZHS, ZRS, ZXS, ZXS-T) ranging from general-purpose single-shaft shredders to heavy-duty and tire-specific machines, seven granulator lines (GSL, GSC, GST, GSE, GSH, GSP) covering low-speed, soundproofed, tangential, economical, and heavy-duty configurations, and PM Plastics Pulverizers for fine powder production. Auxiliary accessories including conveyors, metal separation, and blower systems complete the integrated system offering. The company provides complete turnkey plastics recycling systems where the shredder and granulator lines are designed to work together, enabling single-source procurement of complete size reduction solutions for applications including injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, rotomolding, thermoforming, pipe/profile processing, and e-waste recycling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Virtus Equipment Direct: Online store for ordering machines and spare parts directly, operated as part of ZERMA America's distribution channel.

Products and services

• ZSS Single-Shaft Shredder

Quantifiable outcome

• ZRS can process full-length large-diameter pipes up to 1200mm without pre-cutting
• +6 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Virtus EquipmentcoreTechnology or IntegrationVirtus Equipment is a related equipment brand and the platform for ZERMA America's online parts store (virtus-equipment.com/direct/). They share engineering and manufacturing lineage with ZERMA. ZERMA America service team specializes in servicing both ZERMA AMERICA and VIRTUS granulator machines. Parts are cross-compatible and sold through the same online store.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Andritz: Global industrial group with a significant recycling and pulp division offering shredders, granulators, and separation equipment. Competes with Zerma in textile recycling and larger-scale plastics recovery projects as part of a much broader process-equipment portfolio.

Direct peers

• Vecoplan: US-based manufacturer of industrial shredders and grinders for plastics, wood, paper, and metals. Direct competitor to Zerma's ZSS, ZIS, ZHS, and ZXS shredder lines, particularly in bulky and low-density material handling.
• Rapid Granulator: Swedish-headquartered manufacturer of industrial granulators for plastics recycling and beside-the-press size reduction. Directly competes with Zerma's GSL, GSC, GST, GSE, GSH, and GSP granulator lines on the same injection molding and extrusion customer base.
• UNTHA Shredding Technology: Austrian-headquartered maker of industrial shredders for plastics, wood, and waste. Direct competitor to Zerma's shredder family, with strong presence in tire and bulky waste recycling.
• Hosokawa Alpine: German manufacturer of size-reduction systems including pulverizers, granulators, and shredders. Competes most directly with Zerma's PM Plastics Pulverizer line and shares German-engineered positioning.
• Stokkermill: Italian manufacturer of shredders, granulators, and separation equipment for plastics, metals, and cables. Competes with Zerma in European plastics recycling and increasingly in North America through distributor channels.
• Granutech-Saturn Systems: US manufacturer of industrial shredders and granulators for plastics, tires, e-waste, and wood. Overlaps with Zerma across tire recycling (ZXS-T), e-waste, and heavy-duty shredding applications.
• Cumberland Plastics Machinery: Long-established North American maker of granulators and shredders for plastics processors, now part of Davis-Standard. Competes head-to-head with Zerma across injection molding scrap, purgings, and pipe/profile recycling applications.
• Rotogran: UK-based granulator specialist serving plastics, packaging, and injection molding customers. Comparable to Zerma's granulator portfolio with focus on in-house scrap reprocessing for mid-market plastics manufacturers.

Emerging players

• Bulk Handling Systems (BHS): US-based recycling systems integrator offering shredders, sorting, and separation equipment for MRFs and e-waste facilities. Comparable to Zerma in e-waste and MRF primary size reduction but competes as a turnkey systems integrator rather than a single-machine specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zermaamerica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ZERMA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ZermaAmerica/?eid=ARDM9E768SClnxyJzo-AiedNfkm-jBfxIiuXOm26tRVkqZsHtOtR-jcu-qg-33bXeHBZcCoDty4VY4uI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zerma-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zerma America